Today’s High Gas Prices are Decades in the Making

Predictions, speculation, and warnings about the state of gas prices between now and the midterms have sparked plenty of commentary from the talking heads. But the real issue won’t be found in much of the back-and-forth commentary—it’s found in the reality behind it.

Americans are paying more at the pump because poor policies pushed by previous administrations over the course of several decades have left the United States vulnerable.

Yes, global events matter. War in the Middle East and instability in key shipping lanes will always affect oil markets. But those shocks only hit this hard when a country lacks the strength to absorb them.

The United States is not supposed to be that country. And America First policies can ensure that we never are again.

We have vast energy resources, world-class technology, and the capacity to produce more than enough oil and gas to meet our needs. A conflict halfway around the world should not be driving up costs for American families. The fact is that it reflects a deeper failure on the part of prior, America-last leaders.

For years, policymakers in some states and at the federal level made it harder to produce energy at home. Pipelines were blocked. Drilling was restricted. Regulations piled up. Investment was discouraged. At the same time, politicians pushed aggressive “net zero” timelines without ensuring viable alternatives were ready.

The result was a system more exposed to global disruption. Now Americans are paying the price.

Oil is a global commodity—no president can change that. But whether global volatility becomes a domestic crisis is informed by the arc of our recent history. Unleashing domestic production acts as a buffer. Suffocating production amplifies the shock.

The obvious answer is to produce more here at home, build the infrastructure to support it, and stop outsourcing our energy security to unstable regions. More drilling, pipelines, and refining capacity. Not as a short-term fix, but as a long-term strategy.

The politicians now complaining about high prices helped create the conditions for them. You cannot spend years restricting supply and then act surprised when prices surge during a crisis.

That’s because energy policy reflects deliberate choices made by elected officials such as Joe Biden, who declared at a campaign stop in 2019, “I guarantee you, we’re going to end fossil fuel.” Or by Barack Obama, who believed that “we must end the age of oil in our time.” Those choices have consequences, and Americans are living with them now.

There is also a strategic cost. When the United States limits its own production, it doesn’t reduce global demand—it shifts power to other producers, many of whom do not share American interests or values.

That shift weakens U.S. influence abroad while increasing dependence at home. It gives leverage to foreign governments and cartels that benefit directly from higher prices and tighter supply.

Reversing that trend requires more than rhetoric. It requires restoring confidence in American energy by creating a stable, predictable environment for investment and development.

It also requires recognizing that strength—not scarcity—is what drives innovation. A nation that leads in energy production is better positioned to invest in new technologies and shape the future on its own terms.

The path forward is not complicated, but it does require a shift in priorities. Energy dominance must once again be treated as a unifying national objective, not a political liability for one side or the other.

That means approving projects that expand capacity instead of delaying them indefinitely. It means setting clear rules that allow companies to plan and invest with confidence.

It also means rejecting the false choice between economic growth and energy production. The United States has long proven it can do both—and do both better than anyone else.

The alternative is continued volatility, where every international crisis becomes a domestic economic problem. Voters understand this more clearly than many policymakers. They feel it every time they fill up their tank or pay their bills.

Thankfully, the Trump Administration has worked to liberate energy production and put America back on the track towards energy dominance. Examples abound: U.S. crude oil production set a record over the course of 2025, as did American offshore oil production.

The Administration is setting up future, long-term energy wins – all while undoing the anti-energy policies of the previous administration. The Department of the Interior rescinded a Biden-era rule that locked up 23-milion acres of Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve and has approved 63.7% more federal and tribal drilling permits than President Biden did over the same period at this point in their presidency. President Trump and Congress have taken many other actions to unlock millions of additional acres across the West. These are the actions of an administration that is serious about bringing prices back down for Americans.

For too long, Washington has not been serious about lowering costs and protecting American families. We wouldn’t be in this situation if it had been. Thankfully, America is moving the right way, guided by a simple principle: produce more of what we need, here at home.

Anything less leaves the country exposed—and guarantees more supply shocks like this one.